A Teacher's POV - New Year's Lock-in
by Time Lady
Summary: There's a New Year's dance and sleepover party at the school. Who gets to dance with who? Who kisses who? All from the POV of the teacher.


A Teacher's POV - New Years' Lock-in  
  
By Time Lady  
  
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Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of the characters in this story, except the teacher. I'm just borrowing them. The teacher _is _ my character.  
  
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I now have absolute proof that I do not have a life.  
  
How do I know?  
  
My options for New Years' Eve were:  
A. Spend New Years' Eve with my parents  
B. Spend New Years' Eve chatting on the internet  
Or  
C. Spend New Years' Eve chaperoning a bunch of pre-teens at a school lock-in (in other words, a glorified sleepover party) and make fifty bucks for doing it.  
  
My preferred option would have been B, but I would have had to explain to A why I was doing that instead of spending New Years' Eve with them. C was far easier to explain.  
  
So I arrived at school where a group of parents were setting up the lock-in. I noticed I was the only female teacher recruited as a chaperone, while there were about 3 male teachers. That certainly made me feel better. Not.  
  
A band was tuning up on the stage of the gymnatorium. The gymnatorium was a combination extra gym and extra auditorium, with a stage at one end and the floor marked out for sports activities. A buffet table was set up on one end of the room. Streamers and lights decorated the walls. Somehow they hung a disco ball from the middle of the ceiling.  
  
"All right," said Mrs. Fujiyama, who organized the lock-in. "The cafeteria has been set up for the girls, the gym for the boys. Food for breakfast is in the teachers' lounge refrigerator."  
  
"I guess that should do it," I said. "I'll go drop my stuff in the cafeteria."  
  
By the time I returned, kids were starting to arrive. The coach was fending kids off from the food tables. It was too early and a few of the kids could clear the food table in 10 minutes flat.  
  
I wasn't surprised when Takeru and Hikari showed up together, with Hikari's parents dropping them off. I was more surprised when Takeru walked up to the lead singer of the band and said "Hi bro'." Upon a second glance, I could tell they were definitely related. I didn't know Takeru had an older brother though.  
  
Iori came next. No surprise there. "Hello sensei," he said to me. "Miyako asked me to tell you she would regret that she can't come. Her family is having a big get together."  
  
"That's okay," I said. "Some families are having things together, some parents are just going to separate parties. Some are giving their kids the opportunity to come to a party of their own. It just depends."  
  
"I really wanted to come this evening," said Iori. "Grandfather and mother agreed it would be good."  
  
"Well, go set your stuff over there," I said, pointing to the area designated for dropping backpacks and sleeping bags.  
  
Among the other students arriving, I saw Daisuke, Miyu, Yukari, Amano, Moose, and a few others from my classes. Daisuke was making his way to where Takeru, Hikari and Iori were by the band when he was tackled by a blur shrieking "Daisuke!"   
  
I walked over to where the coach was guarding the punch. "You know," I said to him, "If you need a linebacker for the football team, I think Akemi would be a good candidate." Daisuke was frantically trying to detach Akemi from his neck. "Akemi, he needs air," I called over to her.   
  
"Oops," she said, blushing.  
  
This is going to be a _long _ night. . . .  
  
By eight o'clock, the band had begun to play. Couples began pairing up on the dance floor. Someone at some point switched on the disco ball. I would like to find out who did it and shoot them. The flashing lights were giving me a migraine. I made the rounds of the floor, catching snippets of conversation.  
  
"When is Daisuke going to get a clue?" said Miyu to Yukari.  
  
"Daisuke? You mean when's Akemi going to get a clue?" returned Yukari.  
  
"The lead singer is such a hunk," said one of the girls.  
  
"You know that's Takeru's older brother," said another.  
  
"He is? I wonder if there are any more of them," said a third girl.  
  
"Takeru is so lucky," said one of the boys.  
  
"Yeah, to land a girl like Hikari."  
  
"I kind of feel sorry for Daisuke."  
  
"Because he didn't get Hikari, or because Akemi latched on to him?"  
  
"Both." The boys laughed.  
  
"I don't know," said one of them. "Akemi's cute, but no girl should be that strong."  
  
Amano, Moose, and Iori were talking on the other side of the room. "If you want to ask her to dance, go ahead," said Amano.  
  
"Yeah Iori," said Moose. "What's the worst she can do?"  
  
"I don't know. . . ." said Iori hesitantly.  
  
"We can't force you," said Amano.  
  
"Akemi," said Daisuke as they attempted to dance.  
  
"Yes?" she replied sweetly.  
  
"Could you get off my foot?"  
  
The night dragged on much as these kind of nights do. By 10:30, a few boys were catnapping in the chairs set up around the room. A large portion of the snacks were gone. About that time, Hikari must have taken pity on Daisuke and agreed to dance with him. Somehow Moose convinced Akemi to dance with him. I debated whether or not I should get the first aid kit, the way they were stepping on each other's feet and bumping into other couples.  
  
I sat down a decent distance from the speakers. The band was loud and my ears were sore. Overall, I would think that maybe 40 to 50 kids showed up. Some of the kids congregated around in small groups talking. Others were on the dance floor. The band stopped for a break. The one they said was Takeru's brother walked over to the punch bowl, near where I was sitting. Takeru and Hikari walked over to him.  
  
"Yamato, this is our history teacher," said Takeru. Iori came over.  
  
"Nice to meet you," said Yamato as he shook my hand. "Isn't Ms. Aino still teaching history here?"  
  
"She left a couple of years ago," I said. "I took her place."  
  
"You're lucky she's gone," said Yamato as Daisuke was dragged over by Akemi. "Ms. Aino was a tyrant."  
  
"Yeah, well things haven't changed much," said Daisuke with a sideways glance at me.  
  
"Bite your tongue!" said Iori irritably.  
  
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, Daisuke," I said dryly. "Because I'm sure you wouldn't like to start out the new school year with detention."  
  
"Eep. . . ." he said.  
  
"New girlfriend Daisuke?" asked Yamato with a grin.  
  
"How'd you guess?" said Akemi.  
  
"SHE IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" said Daisuke.  
  
"Don't they make a cute couple?" asked Takeru.  
  
"QUIT ENCOURAGING HER!" returned Daisuke.  
  
"Yes, simply adorable," said Yamato.  
  
Daisuke looked like he was going to blow up, then looked defeated. He went over to see if he could get some sympathy from Moose and Amano. "He should be glad there isn't any mistletoe around here," said Hikari.  
  
"I don't know. . . . maybe we could find some around," said Takeru with a grin on his face.   
  
"Is my little brother developing an evil streak?" said Yamato.  
  
"Only when it comes to coming up with ways to keep Daisuke away from Hikari," replied Takeru.  
  
"So where are. . . . . you know?" asked Yamato.  
  
"Having their own little party at Miyako's place tonight," said Hikari as they began to walk away. "Apparently, Chibimon got loose in Sensei's classroom after school one day and. . . . ." I didn't hear the rest.  
  
The band went back on stage and continued the performance. Dancers returned to the floor. Iori lingered around the punch bowl. Moose and Amano came over and whispered something to him. He shook his head emphatically no. I wonder if I should step in before they trick Iori into something.  
  
About 11:30, we rolled out a TV and turned it on. One of the stations was showing a big celebration at Tokyo Tower. They were trying to imitate the ball drop at Times Square. Inside the Tower was a Who's Who of Japanese society.  
  
Moose, Daisuke, Satoshi, and Iori stood off to one side talking. "I wish I could get rid of Akemi and manage to squeeze in another dance with Hikari."  
  
"I doubt it," said Satoshi. "It looks like someone superglued her and Takeru together."  
  
"You still haven't asked her, have you?" Moose asked Iori.  
  
"No, and I'll thank you to keep it to yourself," snapped Iori.  
  
"Woah, testy," said Satoshi.  
  
"You know, at the lodge I come from back in Canada, we have a saying. 'Cuando omni flukus moritati."  
  
"And just what's that supposed to mean?" asked Satoshi.  
  
"It's Latin," said Iori. "When all else fails, play dead."  
  
"You mean if I play dead, maybe Hikari will fall all over me?" asked Daisuke.  
  
"If nothing else, it might get rid of Akemi," said Satoshi.  
  
"Hey!" protested Moose. "Akemi's cute!"  
  
I stepped over and laid the "menacing teacher hand" on Daisuke's shoulder. "Play dead and I'll strangle you."  
  
"Eep," returned Daisuke.  
  
"Good, just so you understand." I smiled malevolently at Moose and Satoshi.  
  
"The time's getting late," said Yamato into his microphone. "Guys, grab those special ladies for the last dances of the year."  
  
Daisuke sighed as he saw Takeru lead Hikari onto the dance floor. He didn't have much time to be melancholy. Akemi soon dragged him out there as well. Moose elbowed Iori.  
  
Iori walked up to me, his face turning bright red. "Umm. . . . Sensei, may I have the honor of this dance?" I looked at Iori, who seemed to be steeling himself for my rejection.  
  
"Sure," I said. Iori looked like he'd faint, but we still went out to the dance floor. Thankfully, the band wasn't playing a slow song. I think Iori was still in shock as we made it through two dances. Two however was my limit, as my feet were starting to hurt. I don't think Iori minded. I watched him go back to where Moose and Amano were standing. I wonder if that's what they were daring him about before.  
  
As midnight drew closer, some of the kids passed out confetti and streamers. The band stopped a minute to midnight. Everyone gathered around the TV. We counted down the last 15 seconds.  
  
". . . . Three, two, one HAPPY NEW YEARS!" everyone shouted. Confetti and streamers flew. I noticed a few of the confirmed couples kissing, including Takeru and Hikari. Daisuke was trying to fend off Akemi.  
  
The party kept going for about another hour. More and more, though, the kids were going off and sitting down. A few had dozed off. After conferring with the other teacher/chaperones, I called Yamato over to the edge of the stage. I whispered to him it was time to end it. He nodded.   
  
"All right," said Yamato. "It's time for that last dance of the night."  
  
I accepted Iori's request for the last dance. It was hard enough for him to get the courage to ask. Once the last dance was over, I climbed on stage.  
  
"Okay people," I said. "It's 1 AM. Gather up your belongings. Girls to the cafeteria. . . ."  
  
"Yuck!" exclaimed Yukari and a few others.  
  
"Don't worry. The floors have been washed and buffed and the tables are out of the way. Boys to the gym," I announced.  
  
Despite the moans and groans, the kids divided up. I had the wonderful job of being in charge of about 20 some-odd girls while the coach and other two teachers took the guys to the gym. Some of the girls rolled out knapsacks while others went to the bathroom to change. I managed to go and change into a sweatsuit to sleep in. Then I climbed into my own knapsack.  
  
I knew that few of the girls would be sleeping. I could hear several conversations going at the same time. The easiest one to hear was Akemi and Hikari, who were closest to me.  
  
"Hikari, do you like Daisuke?" asked Akemi.  
  
"He's a good friend."  
  
"But as more than that?"  
  
Hikari laughed. "No. He's too much like my older brother."  
  
I heard Akemi breathe a sigh of relief. "How well do you know Daisuke?"  
  
"I'd like to think pretty well."  
  
"Then how can I get him to like me?"  
  
"He likes you."  
  
"But not in the way he likes you."  
  
"Hmmm. . . . well, for one thing, ease up on the hugs. His face is usually somewhat blue when you let go."  
  
"You mean red."  
  
"No, blue. Sometimes you don't remember your own strength."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"That's okay. You could always try and make Daisuke jealous. That worked for me."  
  
"What did you do?"  
  
"Well, Daisuke became incredibly jealous whenever I was around Takeru. And I could tell Takeru was jealous when I was with Daisuke, even though he did a better job of hiding it."  
  
"So you're saying I should pretend I'm interested in another guy to get Daisuke jealous? Who could I get to do that?"  
  
"Well, you could always try Moose."  
  
"Ewww. . . "  
  
"Hey, Moose already has a crush on you, sort of, he's somewhat gullible, and he's going back to Canada at the end of the school year."  
  
"I don't know . . ."  
  
I had to do everything I could to keep from laughing my head off. This should make things in class very interesting. Or really annoying, depending on my mood that particular day. The talking eased up as slowly the girls fell asleep. Somehow I managed to doze off as well.  
  
Sadly, I was up only a few hours later. I'm sorry, but I can't sleep in strange places, let alone sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor. I slipped out of my sleeping bag and changed out of my sweatsuit to a t-shirt and jeans. By the time I came back, a few of the girls were up as well. "Get dressed," I whispered to them. "We'll go set up breakfast."  
  
Out in the hall, I corralled a couple of boys as well. "Who can sleep between Daisuke, Satoshi, Moose, and the coach's snoring?" said Amano.  
  
"Daisuke alone is bad enough," said Iori.  
  
"Well, come on. Let's get the breakfast stuff and bring it to the gymnatorium," I said.  
  
The guys cleared the tables while the girls and I went to the teachers' lounge. The parents had left cereal, milk, juice, rolls, and pastries. As we were setting up, other kids started straggling in. Amazingly enough, I noticed Akemi standing and talking to Moose. Hmmm. . . .   
  
Most of the kids were up by 10:00. Some of the boys had turned the TV on to New Years' parades broadcast from around the world. 10:30, parents started arriving.  
  
As I waved goodbye to the last of the kids, I prayed next New Years' I'd have something more to do then get conned into another one of these.  
  
Author's note: You asked for it. Here is the New Year's Teacher POV. I've noticed a few of you still don't seem to have realized Moose's origins. Moose is the often mentioned lodge member on the Red Green Show. I'm not criticizing Canadians (my on-line/quasi-boyfriend is from Canada). I'm just paying homage to one of my other favorite shows.  



End file.
